Prayers of the People: Another Season ~ 3rd Sunday after Pentecost WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, June 29, 2025; Readings: Jeremiah 9:17-22, Psalm 126:1-6, Revelation 21:1-7, Luke 23:26-31

   Thus says the Sovereign of the Vanguard of Heaven: Reason with yourselves, and call for the keening women and they shall come; send for the wise, skilled women and they shall come. Let them quickly raise a wailing over us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids flow with water. [Jeremiah 9:17-18]

  Reverse, Redeeming God, our captivity like the watercourses of the Negeb. Those who sow in tears with shouts of joy shall reap.  [Psalm 126:4-5]

   I saw a new heaven and a new earth…And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! The Home of God is among the woman-born. God will dwell with them as their God; they will be God’s people…” The One also said, “Write for these words are trustworthy and true”…I am the Alpha and the Omega… Those who overcome will inherit these things… [Revelation 21: 1-7]

  A great number of people followed him, and a group of women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, weep only for yourselves and your children.  [Luke 23:27-28]

   This week Dr. Gafney’s Lectionary begins with Jeremiah who will be with us for several weeks to come. She mentions in her notes that these readings will not be in in numerical order as the Book of Jeremiah itself is not in chronological order and it is impossible to determine the chronological order. The collection of readings she has assembled for this week outline various seasons of emotions in the lives of God’s people and she makes several important points. One is that while such times are temporary they will return for a variety of reasons.

   In this reading from Jeremiah, the weeping of Israel in its Babylonian captivity is healing, Dr. Gafney says, as well as didactic and prophetic. The women who are trained professional mourners are guided by God to help the individual and communal mourners to work through their grief to begin a process of healing and adjustment to their surroundings. This reading stays in the sorrow mode without offering a “happy ending.” People who have experienced profound personal grief can understand that there is slow movement from the deep sorrow to a level of acceptance and a later transformation yet it takes however long it takes and the time differs for each person.

   The Psalmist gives us a sense of the cycles of life through the story of Israel. Each of us is in a captivity of one kind or another in our lives, far more than once, and looking back we can recognize when we were tear-filled in grief as well as expressing tears of joy and happiness. As the planets in their movement and the watercourses in Negeb/Negev desert and elsewhere, all life flows, turns, moves, and changes throughout its existence. There are great and good transformations and reversals and those that are far less than comforting.

   We move into the Book of Revelation reading which is triumphal. We will not weep forever, no matter how life has been for us individually or collectively. God is everything to us, our Alpha and Omega, for us and with us “among the woman-born.” And then we move from this fresh breath hope back into the Passion of Jesus.

   As he tells the women who are wailing for him to weep for themselves and their children, we can ponder the centuries, the millennia since, and wonder what is yet to come.

   We who have lived a while know that our seasons come and go, whether we are up or down in them, whether they seem endlessly long or breathtakingly short, we will laugh or cry or both throughout them all with no predictable length. In the difficult times, Jeremiah tells us to reason within ourselves. If we need help we are to ask for it and it will come. The Psalmist says that God has done great things for us and as when Israel was released from its captivity, they rejoiced and shouted for  joy. In those moments we are to do the same and enjoy for as long as we can.

   One important note from Dr. Gafney is that as the seasons of our lives progress, “…circumstances that lead to profound sorrow are not God-ordained and when they involve interpersonal, social, cultural, or international violence, they are not God’s will. God does not require our torture to accomplish divine ends.” This is a view I share.

   We will always have another season of ups or downs in various successions in the time of our human living. The greatest season of all, of course, is the one last will last forever when, as this reading in Revelation says, God will wipe every tear and death will be no more, no grief, no weeping, and no pain of any kind. Breathe deeply and find the good and the hope in every season from now until…

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Holy God, our Alpha and Omega, for seasons of sorrow you gave us tears to cleanse, heal, and strengthen the bedrock of our faith. As we pass through all the seasons of this life, steady our hearts and refill our souls with the knowledge that tragedy and violence are not of your doing. Grant us patience in waiting for the next cycle of living to bring shouts of joy and tears of happiness.

                                             Redeeming God

RESPONSE:      We are Your People; our trust is in You. 

~ Holy God, our Alpha and Omega, renew our strength and courage to stand firm and speak on behalf of those who have no voice, no justice, and no freedom, to the dictatorships and governments in this world, this nation, and this community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                            Redeeming God                                               
                                            We are Your People; our trust is in You.

~ Holy God, our Alpha and Omega, relieve the anguish of those in physical or emotional pain, and bolster the patience and vitality of all who provide care and support. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                            Redeeming God                                               
                                            We are Your People; our trust is in You.

~ Holy God, our Alpha and Omega, relieve distress and give comfort to those in mourning, as you delight in the arrival of the souls of your beloved returning Home for new life everlasting. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                            Redeeming God                                               
                                            We are Your People; our trust is in You. 

~ Holy God, our Alpha and Omega, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…

                                            Redeeming God                                               

       We are Your People; our trust is in You.       

~ Holy God, our Alpha and Omega, enhance, enrich, and enlighten the faith of all who are called as today’s prophets in Your church, that they may continue to inspire and guide us throughout the seasons and life of our faith. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                            Redeeming God                                               

       We are Your People; our trust is in You. 

The Celebrant adds: Living, Loving God, release us from the captivity of our self-indulgences, to seek and share the newness of life in everyday moments with all the woman-born you have created. Help us to help each other to overcome the trials of living, moving only forward, as the watercourses of this planet, to the fullness of Your Kingdom beyond. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and the Holy Spirit, our Guide in Truth; who together with You are One God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C, and others in her series, and translator of its biblical selections. I definitely commend her book for the complete readings, to Clergy and Laity, for her Text Notes, and “Preaching Prompts” whether or not you will use them in your Liturgies/Services/Preaching. There is much to learn from her work to inform every facet of our lives in Christ.  To learn more about her and her work, see her website: https://www.wilgafney.com

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